In its latest annual count of extremist groups in the United States, the Southern Poverty Law Center reports that the number of anti-government and militia groups has continued to rise dramatically while the number of hate groups has held steady.

In 2012, the nonprofit civil rights organization based in Montgomery, Ala., listed 1,360 "Patriot" groups, who generally believe that "the federal government is conspiring to take Americans' guns and destroy their liberties as it paves the way for a global 'one-world government.' "

That number represented a more than eight-fold increase from 149 such groups in 2008, according to the center's report issued Tuesday.

"Frankly, we've never seen that kind of growth in the entire time we've been covering these groups," said Mark Potok, the report's author who spoke to reporters in a conference call.

In Texas, the jump in Patriot groups has been even steeper than at the national level, spurting from 6 in 2008 to 52 in 2009 and 79 in 2012, an increase of more than 12 times.

Founded in 1971, the law center since 1990 has been tracking extremist groups. The Patriot movement includes militia groups, Potok said.

Both nationally and in Texas, the number of Patriot groups initially peaked in the 1990s and then dipped back to single digits. In the Lone Star State, however, the dip took longer to show up, with 44 groups registering activity in 2003.

"Texas has been a real hotbed of this movement. It was in the '90s and is becoming so again," Potok said.

The number of hate groups in the United States listed by the law center decreased last year by 11, from 1,018 in 2011 to 1,007 in 2012.

According to the law center's website, hate groups "have beliefs or practices that attack or malign an entire class of people."

While the law center has drawn criticism for labeling such organizations as the Family Research Council and the American Family Association as hate groups, Potok said the center lists the two organizations among anti-gay groups due to their "demonizing" propaganda about lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender people.

Potok said the two organizations have "propagated known falsehoods," such as repeatedly asserting that gay men are more likely than straight men to assault children.

Bryan Fischer, director of issue analysis for the American Family Association, said the Journal of Sex Research has reported that about 30 percent of child sexual abuse is committed by homosexual or bisexual men although they represent less than 3 percent of the population.